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Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) said it has spent N9 billion on public tertiary institutions in the country to enable them undertake research in various disciplines, under National Research Fund (NRF), Executive Secretary, Prof. Suleiman Elias-Bogoro, disclosed at the 35th Conference of Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (AVCNU) at Kano State University of Science and Technology (KUST), Wudil, yesterday.
Elias-Bogoro, represented by Hajiya Hadiza Abdullahi, explained that the fund awarded a total of 240 grants to the institutions. He described NRF as an intervention, aimed at promoting the conduct of applied research and innovation by academics in public tertiary institutions.
According to him, the research and innovations will assist in driving the country’s socio-economic development in an increasingly globalised and highly competitive knowledge-driven world.
Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, said that his administration would continue to accord education top priority, adding that no nation could develop above the level of its educational system.
This, he said, was why his administration had declared free and compulsory education in the state.
Represented by Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Usman Alhaji, Ganduje said that his government had sponsored accreditation of more than 240 academic programmes at the state-owned tertiary institutions.
He also stated that his administration would begin consequential adjustments of salaries of staffers of all the institutions.
The acting Chairman, AVCNU, Prof. Timothy Olagbemiro, said universities worldwide were required to explore creative solutions to societal challenges. He said the country’s higher educational system remained the largest in Africa, pointing out that currently, there were 197 universities in the country.
Olagbemiro, however, identified funding as the major challenge facing Nigerian universities. He said the institutions were also facing problems of attack and kidnap, sometimes leading to killing of students.
“To address these challenges, we are proposing a meeting with all stakeholders to discuss the way forward, especially on how to fund higher education in Nigeria and ensure campus security,” he said.
